Prologue: Smog, Haze, Sulfur: The Elusive Clarity of the Anthropocene

This chapter highlights the complex interrelationship between global environmental problems and modern forms of social organization by discussing three examples: (1) the Great London Smog (1952); (2) Southeast Asian Haze (2013); and (3) sulfur in the stratosphere (1815 and the future). In doing so, we illustrate the ways in which seemingly objective laws of modern society undermine efforts to ameliorate societally induced environmental degradation. We conclude by situating the Anthropocene proposal in relation to our current inability to take hold of the runaway character of socioecological development.